Switch for industrial tracks.



T. HAYTON.

SWITCH FOR INDUSTRIAL TRACKS.

APPLICATION FILED 0GT.22, 1914.

'i,13@,1@50 Patented M21122, 1915.

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THE NORRIS PETERS c0. PHOTG-LITHO.v WASHINGTON, D. c.

THOMAS HAYTON, or rename GEL-EEK, rnnnsvnvanrn.

SiVITC I-i FOB INDUSTRIAL TRACKS.

Application filed Gctecer 22, 1214.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that l, THOMAS HAYTON, a citizen of the United States,residing at l urtle Creek, in the county of Allegheny and State ofPennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inSwitches for Industrial T racks, of which the following is aspecification.

T his invention relates to certain new and useful improvements inswitches for industrial tracks.

The primary object of the invention is to provide both a two and threeway switch especially adapted for narrow gage industrial tracks and soarranged as to automatically allow a'car to pass therethrough upon themain track whether the preaching the switch from the main or a sideswitch track.

A further object is to provide a shiftable switch arm automaticallyoperated by the movement of cars in one direction and mechanicallyshiftable for allowing the cars to pass in opposite directions and beingprimarily designed for cars having outwardly flanged wheels.

A still further object is to provide a shiftable three-way switch armadapted for antomatic actuation by a moving car and lJZEV'. ing asteadying means for each adjusted position.

With these general objects in view and others that will appear as thenature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in thenovel combination and arrangement of parts to be hereinafter more fullydescribed, illustrated in the accompanying drawings and set forth in theappended claims.

In the drawings forming a part of this application and in whichlike-designating characters refer to corresponding parts throughout theseveral views, Figure 1 is top plan view of a three-way switch providedwith my improved shiftable switch arm. Fig. 2 is a vertical sectionaltransverse view taken upon line IIH of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a verticallongitudinal sectional view taken through the switch arm whenoperatively positioned. Fig. l is a perspective view of the switch armand its lever detached, and Fig. 5 is a top plan view of a two-wayswitch provided with a similar switch arm.

Referring more in detail to the drawings the main track is illustratedextending Specification of Letters Patent.

same is ap- Patented Mar. 2, 1915.

Serial No. 868,020.

in a substantially straight direction and having siding or switch tracks11 and 12 communicating therewith and entering the said main track fromopposite directions and at the same point whereby the employment of athree-way switch is rendered es sential.

The device is herein illustrated in connection with a narrow-gage trackand is especially designed for industrial roads, in which the flanges ofthe wheels are arranged for engagement with the outer sides of therails. The wieels of the cars are adapted to travel pon the rails 13 ofeach of the tracks herein illustrated, a pair of such wheels beingindicated at 1 1 in Fig. 2 and when positioned thereon the flanges 15 ofthe wheels enter the longitudinal grooves 16 upon the outer sides ofsaid tracks, the intervening surface 17 of the road-bed being usually ofthe uniform height of the rails.

A four-sided pit 18 is arranged at one side of the main track 10 formingan interruption in one side rail thereof, the said pit being adapted forpositioning a shiftable switch arm or block 19 therein and having a baseplate 20 at the bottom of the pit for mounting the block thereon. T hesaid block 19 is formed as illustrated in Fig. 1 having flared oppositeends one of which designated 21 a greater arcuate length than theopposite end thereof and both of said ends being arcuate in form andconforming to the curvature of the opposite shorter and longer ends 23and 24: respectively of the said pit 18.

The block 19 is provided on its under face and adjacent the end 22thereof with a depending pivot post 25 adapted to be normally positionedwithin a socket 26 of the plate 20 whereby the block is swinginglymounted upon the plate and providing for the shifting movement of theblock end 21 within the pit. The block is provided with a relativelyshort rounded depending pin 27 adjacent its end 21 and the said pin isadapted to enter any desired one of the three shallow sockets 28arranged in the plate 20 adjacent the end 24: thereof.

A hand lever 29 pivotally mounted as at 30 is pivotally connected to theunder face of the block 19 by means of the link 31 and as will beapparent from Fig. 1 of the drawing, a shifting of the lever- 29 may beemployed for manually moving the block 19 so as to position the blockpin 27 in any of a car therethrough from the track desired one of thesockets 28, the saidpin readily riding over the adjacent face of theplate 20 during such movement of the block.

The movement of a car toward the switch upon either of the three tracksand in a direction indicated by the respective arrows will beunimpeded'by the switch block of. When a car approaches the switch upon10 the left-hand wheels will ride the track upon the intermediate rail82 of the blocks and with the wheel flanges in the longi tudinal groove33 thereof and by reason ofthe engagement of the right-hand flangedwheels 'of the car with the right-hand rail 13 of the main track, theswitch block will be automatically shifted to position the pin 27 withinthe central one of the sockets 28 at which time the block rail 32'willbe in alinement with the advance portion of the main track left-handrail so that the car will freely pass upon the main track. Similarly, acar approaching the switch from the left hand switch track 11 will haveits left hand wheel flanges engage the outer face of the left hand rail3% of the switch block and shift the block to position the pin 27 intothe right-hand socket 28 to allow the passing of the car to the maintrack by reason of the alinement of the block rail 3% with the lefthandrail 13 of saidmain track.

It will be seen from this description of the automatic operation of theswitch block from its position as illustrated in Fig. 1 that in asimilar manner the block will be automatically shifted by the carentering the switch so as to provide a continuous connection between theforwardly positioned portion of the main track and regardless ofwhichever one of the three-track portions the car is traveling over. Inother words, with theblock positioned as illustrated in Fig. 1, a carmay freely pass from the side track 12 to the main track withoutshiftingthe block, but any car approaching the switch upon either the track 10or 11 will automatically shift the block and freely pass to the forwardportion of the main track. If the block is shifted for the freepassagepassing of the car from the track-l2 automatically shift the block forallowing such car to freely pass to the main track.

NVhen a car is approaching the switch from a direction opposite to thatindicated will by the arrows in Fig; 1 it then becomes necessary tomanually shift the block by means of the lever 29 to the requisiteposition for allowing the carito pass to the desired track portion. 7

It will thus be seen that shiftable switchblock is provided which isretained against accidental displacementand which affords a switchstructure that is cheap and easy to construct and employs less than theusual number of separate parts.

While the forms of the invention herein an automatically shown anddescribed are believed to be the preferable embodiments thereof, it isnevertheless to be understood that minor changes may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as claimed.7

What I claim as new is z- V LA device of the class described comprisingin connectionwith a main track and switch tracks entering the said maintrack and the road bed of the main track being provided with a pit, of aflaring-ended shiftable block positioned within said pit and pivoted atone end, three rail portions longitudinally positioned upon the upperside of said block and adapted for engagement'by the wheels of carsapproaching the same 7 upon any of the said tracks during the movementof saidgcars to the forwardly positioned portion of the'main track.

2. A device of the class described comprising a main track andsidetracks entering the same, the roadbed ofsaid main track beingprovided with a pit having curved ends at an interruption in all of thesaid tracks, a base plate positioned in the bottom of said pitande'onforming to the shape thereof and having opposite curved ends ofdifferent lengths, and provided with three sockets in its upper faceadjacent its longer end and a single socket adjacent the shorter endthereof, a switch block, having relatively long and short curved endsand positioned within said pit shiftably upon the said plate, adepending post carried at said block in pivotal engagement with thecopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

1 Washington, D. C.

and adapted for automatic alinement.

affix my signature

